California Water Discovery

The bad news: California’s drought continues for the southern part of the state.

The good news: It looks like California’s aquifers hold 2,700 cubic kilometers of water instead of 1,020 km3. That’s almost three times more than expected, which is good news in a drought. California farms use about 30 km3 to 40 km3 per year. Los Angeles uses less than 1 km3 annually.

The bad news: The water is very deep, tends to be salty, and draining it will cause the ground to subside. In some places, it is already subsiding two feet per year.

California’s drought has serious implications for food production and the economy. The climate is expected to worsen. The weather isn’t expected to replenish the aquifers soon enough. They probably will drill and the ground will sink, but it means the state’s situation won’t degrade as quickly, allowing time for better solutions or more graceful exits from unsustainable practices – like pumping water out of aquifers.